American all-solid orbital launch vehicle. Minotaur was developed for the US Air Force's Orbital/Suborbital Program (OSP) as a low-cost, four-stage Space Launch Vehicle (SLV) using a combination of government-supplied surplus Minuteman II ICBM motors and proven Orbital space launch technologies. The Minotaur 4 version used surplus Peacekeeper rocket stages.

The Minuteman motors served as the vehicle's first and second stages. Minotaur's third and fourth stages, structures and payload fairing were taken directly from Orbital's existing Pegasus XL rocket. Its capabilities were enhanced with the addition of improved avionics systems, including a Modular Avionics Control Hardware (MACH), already used on many of Orbital's suborbital launch vehicles.

Minotaur made its inaugural flight in January 2000, successfully delivering a number of small military and university satellites into orbit and marking the first-use of surplus Minuteman boosters in a space launch.

Minotaur V (space launch vehicle for putting small spacecraft on high-energy trajectories, such as GTO, HEO, and lunar), as Minotaur IV but with a Star 48V fourth stage and Orion 38 fifth stage. Payload 560 kg to a geosynchronous transfer orbit.

All of the Minotaur-family launches to date have been from Vandenberg AFB, CA. Minotaur I launches were from Space Launch Complex 8 (SLC-8), the Spaceport Systems Incorporated (SSI) Commercial Launch Facility (CLF). Minotaur II launches have all been from Launch Facility 06 (LF-06).